If there is one truth to our history over the last decade, it is this — we came so close to taking a different, better path.

In 2000, when then-Vice President Al Gore was battling then-Texas Governor George W. Bush for the White House, it was fashionable for people to say that elections didn’t matter — that there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties, or the men who led them.

Well, in the end, a few thousand votes gave the election to Bush over Gore — and the results have conclusively proven that it is, indeed, possible to elect the wrong man. A shattered economy, an endless war and our tattered civil liberties all testify to that.

So when Al Gore strode out tonight to the podium in INVESCO Field, it was hard not to think back for a moment and wonder what might have been. You might think that, even eight years and one Nobel Peace Prize later, that kind of speculation would be too painful for Gore himself to engage in. But he took it up head-on:

Eight years ago, some said there was not much difference between the nominees of the two major parties and it didn’t really matter who became president. Our nation was enjoying peace and prosperity. Some assumed we would continue both, no matter the outcome. But here we are in 2008, and I doubt anyone would argue now that election didn’t matter.

Take it from me, if it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in Iraq, we would have pursued bin Laden until we captured him. We would not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis; we would be fighting for middle-income families. We would not be showing contempt for the Constitution; we’d be protecting the rights of every American regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. And we would not be denying the climate crisis; we’d be solving it.

He then explained that the best way to fix those years of neglect and damage is to elect Barack Obama — because Obama will break the stranglehold the forces of division and disintegration have on our politics:

If you like the Bush-Cheney approach, John McCain’s your man. If you want change, then vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Barack Obama is telling us exactly what he will do: launch a bold new economic plan to restore America’s greatness; fight for smarter government that trusts the market, but protects us against its excesses; enact policies that are pro-choice, pro-education and pro-family, establish a foreign policy that is smart as well as strong; provide health care for all and solutions for the climate crisis.

So why is this election so close? Well, I know something about close elections, so let me offer you my opinion. I believe this election is close today mainly because the forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change Barack Obama represents…

This administration and the special interests who control it lock, stock and barrel after barrel, have performed this same sleight-of-hand on issue after issue. Some of the best marketers have the worst products; and this is certainly true of today’s Republican Party. The party itself has on its rolls men and women of great quality. But the last eight years demonstrate that the special interests who have come to control the Republican Party are so powerful that serving them and serving the national well-being are now irreconcilable choices.

So what can we do about it? We can carry Barack Obama’s message of hope and change to every family in America.

He then made plain exactly how grave the choice before us is:

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon awakening to the challenge of a present danger, shaking off complacency to rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of embracing change…

Late this evening, our convention will end with a benediction. As we bow in reverence, remember the words of this proverb: “when you pray, move your feet.” Then let us leave here tonight and take the message of hope from Denver to every corner of our land, and do everything we can to serve our nation, our world — and, most importantly, our children and their future — by electing Barack Obama President of the United States.